And thomas kane



(No Model.)

E. G. DURANT 81; T. KANE.

. OPERA oHAIB.. No. 274,742 Patented Mar. 27, 1883.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD G. DURANT,OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, AND THOMAS KANE, OF

I CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

OPERA-CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,742, dated March 27, 1 883.

A Application filed January 8, 1883. (No model.)

To all. whom it may concern: V i Be it known that we, EDWARD G. DURANT,

' of Racine, in the countyof Racine, State of Wisconsin, and THOMAS KANE, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Opera-Chairs and similar Folding Seats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of operachairs wherein the back and seat are mounted upon horizontal pivots, and connected in such manner that upon turning the seat to an upright position it causes the back toassume a like position.

The improvement consists mainly in uniting the arms or irons which carry the back and seat by means of interlockin g gear-teeth formed upon their respective ends or attached thereto;

also, in a peculiar manner of forming said ends, whereby they are adapted to hold or sustain each other when in an operative'position 5 also, in a peculiar arrangement for securing the arms upon their supporting-studs'in such manner as to permit them to be moved laterally to a limited extent, and to prevent them from' falling violently when released.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevationof a standard having the seat and back arms applied thereto in accordance with our improved plan,

the arms being shown in an operative position. Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the arms as they appear when folded to the upright posi- 'tion, the plate which secures the arms upon their trunnions or journals being omitted in this figure to expose other parts to view. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line .70 m, Fig. 1. Referring to the drawings, A represents an upright rigid standard, which may be of any suitable form or outline, provided on its side face with two hemispheric journals or protuberances, a and a, designed to support the seat-arm B and backarm C, respectively. The backsustaining arm C, which may in other respects be of any desired form or construction, is provided at the lower end with a cavity or recess to receive the journal at, and in front of said recess with a series of cog-teeth, b, forming, in

effect, a segmental pinion. Thearm is also provided, as shown, with a slot, 0, to receive a clamping bolt, as hereinafter explained. The

seat-supporting arm B is provided in its rear end with a cavity to receive a supporting-journal, a, and upon its rear edge is formed a series of teeth, d, constituting a segmental pinion adapted to'engag'e with a corresponding pinion on the back-arm, so that as the seat-arm isturned to an upright position the teeth engaging with those upon the back-arm will cause the latter to assume an upright position also. Owing to the fact that the back-arm has but little inclination, and therefore requires to move through a smaller arc than the seat-arm, the pinion d on the latter is made of much smaller diameter than the pinion b, so that the seat-arm, in moving through its arc-of substantially ninety degrees, causes the back-arm to move through a much smaller arc. The diameters of the two pinions are so proportioned in relation to each other as to cause the seat and arm to maintain the proper positions for use and to assume a vertical position simultaneously.

For the purpose of limiting the motion of .the arms and giving them a solid supportwhen in an operative position, the seatarrn is provided with a prolongation, 0, extending backward beneath the arm 0, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to rest solidly thereunder. This extension, acting in connection with r the interlock ing pinions, serves to maintain the two arms V firmly in position when adjusted for use, and

sustaining-standard, as represented in Figs. 1.

and 3. It is preferred to makethe plate E of steel or similar elastic material, whereby it is adapted to act with a yielding or spring pressure against the arms, and to exert thereon a friction suflicien-t to retain them in the positions in which they may be placed. The fricjournals.

tion-plate thus applied serves not only to cause a smooth and easy action of the parts and prevent them from grinding one upon another, but also obviates the danger of the seat dropping noisily from its upright position.

It is preferred, when the hemispheric trunnions are employed, to give the plate D but a narrow bearing on each of the arms, this construction being adopted inorder to permit said arms to be rocked or tipped sidewise upon the In this manner chairs constructed on our plan are adapted to be arranged in straight lines, or in rows curved in either direction.

While the use of the spherical trunnions is preferred, it is obvious that the trunnions may be made of cylindrical or conical form, or that they maybe replaced by pivot-bolts without destroying the action of the interlocking pinions upon each other.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. In a folding seat, the combination of supporting standards with a pivoted seat and a pivoted back connected by pinions, substantially as shown, whereby the folding of the seat is caused to raise the back to a vertical position.

and back-arm pivoted thereon, a singleplate, constructed substantially as described, and a belt for attaching the same to the standard, whereby the plate is made to bear upon the respective arms, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the seat-standard having the hemispheric journals, the back-arm provided with an opening to admit the bolt, the seat-arm, the bolt, and the plate E, having a narrow bearing at opposite ends upon the respective arms, as shown, whereby said arms are permitted to swing or tip laterally upon the journals.

6. In combination with the standard A, a pivoted back-arm'provided with an opening to admit the bolt, and a pivoted seat-arm, an elastic plate, E,bearing at opposite ends upon said arms and secured by a single bolt, as described and shown.

7. In combination with the pivoted backarm having the segmental pinion thereon, the pivoted seat-arm provided with a segmental pinion, and with an arm or extension, 0, adapted 

